Agent vs Agentic
A lot of people are quietly mourning who they used to be. They’re not failing or falling behind, they’re just uncertain of who they are now or how to move in this new era. I’ve felt it, too.
I’ve always thought of myself as an agent; someone who sees “it” early, spots trends, connects dots, and makes things move. That identity shaped my entire life. In college, Napster bowled me over. I was already making mixtapes, but peer-to-peer sharing and streaming changed everything overnight. My taste exploded along with newfound access. Music’s power became exponential.
After school, I jumped into the music industry. At 23, I signed The Clipse and toured the world. Their album went #2 on the charts and my life changed overnight again.
But the time again came to pivot. I joined a mobile gaming company from Europe that was entering the U.S. I brokered deals and learned a new business. Then, it imploded, so I moved back to New York in 2007 to start Nue, where my brother and business partner, Alex joined soon after.
You see the pattern. You evolve only to evolve again. Nearly 20 years later, we’re right back in that exciting, uncomfortable place, as the ground moves from under us.
AI hasn’t simply arrived, it has accelerated. A lot of what we do here can now be done as well and in a fraction of the time (well, maybe only 70% as well). Strategy isn’t as scarce and every time we use AI tools, we’re collectively training them. Our thinking, our briefs, and our frameworks are all feeding the machine.
Some businesses have taken a hit, and as a result a lot of people have been let go. I started seeing the writing on the wall. It wasn’t panic, but something harder to explain: that mourning I mentioned earlier. The version of me that always worked might not work the same anymore.
I don’t think I’m alone in that. Right now, people are stuck between, “I was really good at what I was” and “I’m not sure what I’m becoming.” That space is uncomfortable, but it’s real.
But something has clicked. That something is Open Claw – the Claw Code – and the idea of becoming agentic.
It sounds like an empty buzzword, but it’s not. Being agentic is about not just advising, but building.
Not just having ideas, but having intelligence.
Not replacing taste, but scaling it.
Not forgetting about relationships, but compounding them.
So now, we’re evolving again!
Our current mission? To build a music intelligence system that couldn’t exist before. If we succeed, it will be a strong way for brands and event organizers to move with confidence, to validate decision making, know who to book and partner with, why they matter, and how they connect to culture (including comparative analysis, sentiment evaluation and more), but with the human side still executing to deliver results.
Think of it as an index for smarter talent decisions, or an agency powered by AI. A service as a software grounded in taste, nuance and real-world experience.
Taste + Data!
Will it work? We’ll see. What I do know is this: technology has made me stronger in the past, and it will make me stronger again.
I couldn’t be more proud or prepared to host ClawCon in Miami tonight, because the people who win this era aren’t going to be the ones pretending they have it figured out. They’re going to be the ones in the trenches rebuilding, relearning, and rewiring who they are. Those are the people I want to be around.
So if you feel the tension right now, you’re not behind. You’re early. You’re just a new version of yourself.